Giving In
by PhoenixFalls
Summary: CopDoc. Tamsin has noticed, to her irritation, that she has been developing genuine feelings for Lauren. She struggles with herself on whether or not to pursue those feelings. Much like my other CopDoc this is tentatively fluff. As much as CopDoc *can* be fluff, anyways
1. Chapter 1

Lauren Lewis looked up quickly when she heard her name being shouted frantically from the other side of the room. Coming through the doors of the Light Fae lab was a badly beaten Dyson who was supporting the weight of his blonde partner who had one arm thrown over the shifter's shoulder and the other cradled protectively over a large, deep gash in her side which was leaking blood onto her shirt. The doctor immediately rushed over to the pair, authoritatively calling out orders to the technicians for bandages, sutures and anesthetic.

"What happened?" she asked Dyson, helping him brace Tamsin's weight as they half carried her to an empty gurney.

"Business as usual." The shifter replied, grunting slightly as they helped the blonde detective into a sitting position on the bed. "There was a nest of Underfae downtown. Manticore. They were starting to make a nuisance of themselves so we were sent to clean them out. We were doing alright till the big one came out."

"It shot tail spikes at me." Tamsin hissed in pain between her teeth, gingerly lifting the side of her shirt over the wound in her side so the doctor could get a better look. Imbedded in her torn and bloodied flesh were four three inch greenish barbed spikes.

Lauren frowned in concern and put on a pair of gloves, reaching over to a side tray that had been wheeled up and held several prepped needles and an IV bag full of clear fluid. "They'll have to come out." She started, ignoring the other blonde's eye roll at the statement. "It's a good thing you didn't just pull them out, they're quite poisonous and it would have done more harm than good."

"Told you." Dyson jibed his partner gently who only let out a huff of air. "Is there anything you need me to do, Lauren?"

Lauren shook her head absentmindedly, injecting the Valkyrie, numbing the area near her wounds with a sedative. She scanned the wolf shifter for any other signs of injury besides the forming bruises on his face and arms and a few small cuts and he shook his head.

"I'll be fine, really. You need to look after Tamsin." He assured her.

The blonde doctor nodded. "I'd still feel better if you let someone take a look at you before you leave."

Dyson inclined his head in agreement and shot a sympathetic look at his partner before heading off to find a free lab tech so he could be on his way.

Lauren pulled the curtain around the gurney shut and ordered the Dark Fae to take off her shirt. She was too busy prepping the IV bag and hanging it on a pole to notice the raised eyebrow and smirk the Valkyrie offered in response. Tamsin watched the doctor in silence only wrinkling her nose slightly as the human inserted the IV needle into the crook of her forearm.

"What's the damage, doc?" she asked to break the silence between them as the other blonde hovered over the gashes in her side.

Lauren hummed thoughtfully for a moment, gently prodding the reddened skin around the wounds and watching for the taller woman's reaction. Satisfied that the area was sufficiently numb, she stood up and answered. "I'm actually surprised you're still conscious, to be honest. Do you feel tired at all? Dry mouth? Feeling hot?"

The Valkyrie shook her head. "Nah. A little nauseous is all."

"Probably the Manticore toxins. It'll get worse before it gets better. Let me know if you start feeling anything else. Lucky for you, we've had samples of the antivenom for months. I've numbed the area, but he extraction process will still probably hurt a lot so I'll add some painkillers to your IV too."

"Don't hold back on the good stuff!" Tamsin called after the other woman as she stepped out of the curtain to retrieve the antidote.

The blonde Fae sighed and craned her neck slightly to get a better look at the spikes jammed into her side. She gingerly wiggled the tip of one back and forth, wincing as a jolt of pain ran through her for her efforts. That stupid wolf better be kissing her ass next time she saw him. If she hadn't pushed him out of the way, he would have gotten those barbs to the chest. Still, there were worse places to be than doped up, shirtless and under the care of Dr. Hotpants.

She eased herself back onto the pillows so she was in a semi reclining position to think. Tamsin had always considered the doctor attractive but generally hadn't thought much of it. In the last several months though, she had taken it upon herself to be the liaison between the doctor and the cop shop on Fae related cases and she would often find herself scanning the faces at the Dal for Lauren, finding excuses to talk to her when she did and much to her annoyed surprise, she realized she was starting to have feelings for the human. She rolled her eyes at herself. She had a crush on a _human_. How trite. The Dark Fae looked up as the object of her thoughts came back through the curtained barrier with a small tray.

"Get me anything that'll put me down till next Thursday?" she asked hopefully, watching the other woman set the tray down on a nearby stand.

Lauren smiled briefly but shook her head. "You need to be awake for the next twenty four hours. To make sure the antivenom works and so you don't slip into a coma in case it doesn't."

Tamsin sucked her teeth in disappointment. "What a buzz kill. I guess you're keeping me overnight then?"

The other blonde nodded and took a full syringe from the tray and began to inject its contents into the IV tube. "Some of the techs don't feel comfortable with a Dark Fae here overnight, so I'm sending them home tonight and I'll be staying to keep an eye on you."

"Gee," she replied sarcastically. "I didn't know you cared."

Lauren looked up from her work to meet the Valkyrie's gaze. "I _do _care." She said earnestly.

"Yeah…alright." Tamsin mumbled, breaking eye contact when it became uncomfortable for her. She lifted one hand to her temple and shook her head slightly. "I'm startin to feel real lightheaded."

"That'll be the painkillers." The doctor replied, nodding. "You said you wanted the good stuff, didn't you?"

"You're good people, doc." She said dreamily, letting her arm drop to her side.

Lauren chuckled slightly and put the now empty syringe back onto the tray, exchanging it for a pair of medical pliers. "Remember you said that when I'm pulling those spikes out of your side."

ooo

Over an hour later, the last spike had finally been removed and Lauren had sent them out with the last lab tech going home for the night to be incinerated. She was finishing stitching up the wounds and paused for a moment to look at Tamsin who had a frown on her face. "How are you feeling?" she asked the Valkyrie.

"You weren't kiddin about the pain part, doc." The Fae replied hoarsely, turning her head to watch the doctor stitch her up. "Sorry bout all the swearing."

The younger woman shrugged and snipped the thread away from the stitching. "It's okay, I've heard worse."

"I guess you been pulling things outta people a while now, huh?"

"Longer than you'd think." She replied absentmindedly, dressing the wound with gauze.

"Fix up a buncha humans in your day, hmm?"

"It might not be as glamorous as pulling tail spikes from a Manticore out of a Valkyrie, but I…I was in Afghanistan with MSF for… a while, so I'd say 'a bunch' is an understatement."

Tamsin nodded, looking at Lauren with renewed interest. She wasn't going to press the doctor for details, she knew enough about the horrors of war herself to fill multiple lifetimes worth of books and she could tell the tone in the doctor's voice wasn't an invitation to discuss the subject. "So, how d'ya plan on keeping me awake for the next twenty two hours?" she asked, unable to keep the flirtatious tone out of her voice and resisting the urge to indulge in a self-satisfied smile when the doctor chuckled slightly and looked away.

"I don't know, honestly. I thought I'd start by getting you something to eat. I'm going to go order some take out. I could get you something to read while you wait but I'm afraid all I have around here are lab notes that you wouldn't understand."

"You think I'm stupid, doc?" Tamsin scoffed.

Lauren smiled slightly and shook her head. "After all the conversations we've had at the Dal, it would be ludicrous to think you were anything other than intelligent." She said honestly. "I meant my handwriting is really bad."

The Valkyrie rolled her eyes, but smiled at the doctor as she stepped outside the curtained off area to call in an order.


	2. Chapter 2

Lauren took a pull from the bottle of beer Trick insisted on putting in front of her and glanced over the notes she had brought to the Dal with her. She was so absorbed in going over her research notes, that she didn't notice Tamsin had come up next to her until Trick set a tumbler full of amber liquid on the counter in front of the Valkyrie.

"I thought I told you no drinking until the stitches came out?" She scolded gently, looking over at the other woman.

"I thought you were kidding." The Dark Fae replied, shrugging her shoulders and downing half the glass. "Anyways, I pulled those out a couple days ago."

"Tamsin, I told you those had to stay in for at least two weeks."

"They were itchy."

"They were _healing_." Lauren corrected, frowning. "You should have come to me, I know you heal fast, but if the stitches come out too early, you'll just open the wounds again."

"Come on, I'm fine. Stop worrying."

The human sighed and shook her head. "You should at least let me take a look and make sure you're healing properly."

Tamsin raised an eyebrow. "Can't wait to get my shirt off again, huh, doc?"

The doctor rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. "I'm serious."

The Valkyrie drank the rest of her glass and set it down hard on the counter, leaning down slightly so she could lower her voice. "Me too." She straightened up and held up her hand to alert Trick of her need for another drink. "Whatcha workin on?" she asked before the doctor could react to her flirtation.

"Um," she started, clearing her throat. "Just some research for Bo. Know anything about poltergeists?"

Tamsin wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Yeah, they're annoying and a pain in the ass to get rid of. I hope she's charging extra… Who am I kidding? We both know she's not"

"Actually, I don't think she's charging for this one at all."

The Valkyrie shook her head and took a restrained sip of her refreshed drink. "Figures." She turned towards the pool tables when she heard her name being called. Dyson was standing in front of a racked and ready table, holding a pair of cue sticks. "Well doc, as much as I'd _love_ to stand around talking to you about the succubus, I'm gonna go take the wolf's money." She gulped down the rest of her drink and put the empty glass on the counter.

"Come to the lab tomorrow, I want to take a look at your wounds and make sure they're healing properly."

"Sure thing, doc." She pushed herself away from the bar and left the human to her notes, making her way across the Dal and to the pool tables where she took a stick from Dyson and nodded to him to begin the game.

"So, what did you two have to talk about?" the shifter asked, expertly breaking the cluster of cue balls.

Tamsin sighed. Her partner asked that same question every time she slipped off to talk to the other blonde and her answer was always the same. "Stuff." She replied flatly, leaning over the table to make a shot for the number two blue ball.

"You and Lauren seem to have an awful lot of…stuff to talk about lately. Especially after that Manticore attack last week." He commented, watching her sink her shot and line up another.

The Valkyrie shrugged slightly and narrowed her eyes in concentration. "I'm a thrilling conversationalist."

"Tamsin," Dyson started, his tone apprehensive. "I don't think it's a good idea for you two to be…"

"Don't finish that sentence, wolf." She warned. "First of all, it's none of your business. Secondly, there's _nothing_ going on. Now take your turn."

He clenched his jaw for a moment before lining up his next shot. "If it concerns the Light Fae, it is my business. You know that."

"Oh don't act like you always have the Light's best interests at heart, you little hypocrite." Tamsin shot back, her tone annoyed.

Dyson looked up from the table and regarded her with concern. "Just be careful, is all I'm saying."

"Thanks. You're always full of advice I didn't ask for." She smirked slightly to cushion her irritation. "Just take your shot."

ooo

Tamsin strolled into the Light Fae lab the next morning, hoping to catch the doctor before she became too engrossed in her work for the day. She stopped a few feet short of the doctor, noticing that she was having an animated conversation with Bo. Lauren shifted her weight slightly so she could see past the succubus and offered the Valkyrie a small smile, indicating that she'd seen her come in. Bo turned around suddenly and eyed Tamsin for a moment, a strange look crossing her features before turning her attention back to the human.

The Valkyrie perched herself on top of a paper covered examination table and watched the lab techs go about their work for a while until she saw Bo leave the lab. The succubus greeted her as she walked by, but she still had that strange look on her face, as if she had seen something she hadn't wanted to. Tamsin shrugged, used to weirdness from Bo and put it out of her thoughts as the doctor approached the table, pulling on a pair of gloves.

"You're here early." Lauren commented, pressing a hand to the other woman's shoulder so she laid back on the table.

"Yeah, well, I got stuff to do today too, doc. I _do_ have a job, yanno."

The doctor hummed her agreement, but she was only half paying attention, having already lifted the side of the Valkyrie's shirt to look at the wounds, which were scabby, but beginning to scar over. "Well it looks a lot better than I thought it would, but you still should have kept the stitches in. I've got some antiseptic I want you to put on it every night for at least the next three or four days… I feel like this is pointless telling you, but if you stop drinking for a while, the scars will disappear faster too."

"You're right, it is pointless. Besides," she continued, pulling down her shirt as Lauren removed her gloves. "Chicks dig scars, right?"

The shorter blonde smiled but didn't answer the question. "Do you have any pain or discomfort?"

"Nah. A little tender still, but that's it." She stretched and hopped off the exam table to follow the doctor. "What's up with you and the succubus?" she asked nonchalantly, hoping the other woman didn't sense any ulterior motives in her question.

"Oh, Bo was just here to get a chemical spray to make the poltergeist corporeal. I thought that would help, so I made it last night."

"Geeze, doc, do you ever sleep?"

Lauren laughed and shook her head. "I'm not even sure I know the real meaning of that word anymore." She pulled a small tube of unguent from one of the numerous drawers in a nearby desk and handed it over. "Every night for the next three or four days." She reminded.

"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha. You making an appearance at the Dal tonight? I hear Trick's trying to get rid of a surplus of cluricaun wine that just came in."

"I don't know if I want to be around a bar full of Fae drunk on anything the cluricaun make."

"C'mon, live a little! Besides, it'll be great to have a doctor there for when the fights start to break out." She ignored the other woman's eye roll and continued. "How bout this, you show up and your first two glasses are on me."

Lauren laughed incredulously. "_First_ two? I don't think I could handle more than one, Tamsin. I don't have your constitution."

"I got faith in ya, doc. I'll see you later, then."

"I'll think about it." She corrected.

"I'll see you later." Tamsin reiterated confidently before striding out of the lab.


	3. Chapter 3

"Because they're cheaper than day rates?" Tamsin repeated, laughing and shaking her head. "God, doc, that is a truly horrible joke."

"Hey!" Lauren protested, faking her offense. "That's my favorite one."

The Valkyrie raised her eyebrows and took a draught from the wine glass in her hand. "Yeah, well, you need some new material."

"Science humor is so underappreciated." She sighed dramatically and swirled the clear green liquid around her glass before finishing what little was left. They were sitting on a couch in the back of the unusually crowded Dal, nursing cluricaun wine. At least she was, Tamsin was on her fifth or sixth glass already. "You got any better ones?" she challenged, already feeling lightheaded even though she'd drank barely half a glass.

"Me? I got nothin. You don't need standup when you have wits this sharp."

"Right, of course, how foolish of me." The human replied, smiling.

"Damn right." The Dark Fae said, nodding her head firmly. "You ready for another one?" she asked, gesturing to the empty glass.

"I don't know, this one is already going to my head and it hasn't fully kicked in yet."

"You're such a lightweight." She said teasingly.

"I'm human, remember?"

Tamsin shrugged and gestured towards the bar, which could barely be seen through the throng of people. "C'mon, that's no excuse! Kenzi's been knocking em back since before you got here."

"Well, Kenzi is a professional." She countered dryly. Lauren stared down at her empty glass for a few moments before shrugging and handing it to the other woman. "Alright. One more won't kill me…probably."

"You'll be fine, doc." The Valkyrie assured, emptying what was left in her glass and standing up from the couch. She returned the smile Lauren gave her before making her way through the crowd and up to the bar, waving down Trick who nodded that he'd seen her.

"Tamsin, hi." Bo said next to her, catching her attention.

"Hey." She replied, her tone indulgent. She caught Kenzi's gaze next to the succubus and inclined her head in greeting, the human gave a wave with her free hand as her other hand was busy pouring the contents of her glass into her mouth. "How much of those has she had?" she asked the brunette, impressed with the array of empty glasses in front of the human that had yet to be cleared.

"Three, plus a couple tequila shots, some kind of fairy mead and whatever she's drinking now. This is like Christmas for her." Bo said, nursing a beer.

"None for you? Cluricaun wine is one of the wonders of the world."

"I'm driving. Trick promised to save me a bottle or two to take home, so long as Kenzi doesn't drink it all."

"You better cut her off soon then, she's going to pickle her liver."

Bo laughed lightly and nodded in agreement. "So, where's Lauren? I thought I saw her come in."

Tamsin sighed at the strained note in her voice and lifted her gaze to the ceiling for a moment. "How should I know?"

The succubus shrugged and picked at the label on her beer bottle. "I dunno; Dyson's just told me you guys talk a lot at the Dal." She answered noncommittally. "About…_stuff_."

Tamsin waved at Trick again to try and hurry him up. "Oh, for… you tell him to keep his nose out of my business."

Bo looked over at the Valkyrie, her voice serious. "Is there business to put his nose in?"

"What is it with you people?" she replied, exasperatedly, grabbing the new glasses Trick set in front of her.

"Lauren is really important to me."

Tamsin rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure there isn't a Fae on either side who doesn't know that, but thanks for the pointless information."

The brunette put a hand on the blonde's arm to stop her from leaving. "I'm not worried about other Fae knowing that, I just want to make sure _you_ know it."

The Dark Fae looked at the succubus dubiously, almost sure there was a threat in there somewhere but she couldn't quite figure out where. "Yeah, okay." She said finally, shaking her arm slightly so Bo's hand fell away and making her way back to where she had left Lauren on the couch. "How'd you manage to keep my spot free?" she asked, handing the human her drink and sitting down. She could tell by the way the doctor was leaning slightly onto the back of the couch that she was much tipsier than when she'd left her.

"No one really pays attention to me unless I'm acting in an official capacity." Lauren admitted shrugging.

"Tch." The Valkyrie sounded in disapproval. She lifted her glass and took a healthy gulp. "Try and keep up, doc."

The other woman smiled and rolled her eyes, but took a drink of the sweet wine. "Are you trying to get me drunk?"

Tamsin lifted one shoulder. "First of all, you're halfway there so you might as well go the distance, ammirite? Secondly, I'm pretty sure 'drunk' is one of the six universal emotions."

Lauren laughed and shook her head, amused. "I'd correct you on that last point, but I feel like you'd just argue with me."

"Most definitely."

"I'm surprised no one's started fighting yet. I'm more surprised _you _haven't started fighting yet."

"A couple people got tossed out before you got here." She replied, snickering. "Trick threatened to release his troll on them." She bumped Lauren's knee with her own. "And really, doc? You honestly think I'm paying enough attention to the losers around here enough to want to get into a fight?" the Valkyrie looked at the crowd around them briefly. "Granted, if you weren't here, I'd have probably gotten into a really good one by now."

"Oh yeah?" the doctor asked, pleased. "Am I really that distracting?"

Tamsin raised her eyebrows and smirked but instead of answering the question, took a drink and changed the subject.

ooo

Several hours later, a pleasantly drunk Lauren had made it home in a cab and was busying herself with drinking glasses of water to try and circumvent a hangover the next day. After a few glasses, she set the cup on the counter next to the sink and made her way upstairs to her bedroom. She had been noticing for a while that Tamsin was frequently becoming more flirtatious with her and she wasn't quite sure how to deal with that. She thought it was because they were more comfortable around each other an that's just how the Valkyrie was, but the more it happened, the less she was certain the blonde Fae wasn't being serious.

It wasn't that the doctor minded, really. Once she'd mostly gotten past Tamsin's gruff exterior, she found that they had quite a bit in common and she was funny, and could even be fairly sweet, though she would never describe the Dark Fae as such out loud. She was a little confused about how to react, though. She suspected the other blonde had no idea that she'd been harboring more than friendly affection for her for a while. She was certain that given the Valkyrie's personality, she would have made a move on her if she had. Lauren was cautious though; despite her feelings, Tamsin was not just any Fae, she was Dark Fae.

Her relationship with Bo had been tolerated and even encouraged because it was beneficial to the Light. There was no telling how a reaction to breaking the human/Fae social taboos would go with a member of the Dark. Lauren tossed her clothes carelessly on the floor and got into bed, pulling the comforter up to her chin. She wasn't even sure Tamsin was after anything more than casual sex though she'd be surprised if she was.

She sighed and closed her eyes. The doctor had grown unused to being hit on since becoming immersed in the Fae world. Like she had told the Valkyrie at the Dal, she was generally ignored unless acting in some official capacity. Though it wasn't completely unheard of for Fae to be attracted to her, it was so infrequent; she became flummoxed when it did happen and generally suspected some kind of ulterior motives behind the actions. Maybe it was her feelings clouding her judgment, but she didn't think Tamsin had any shady reasons for her actions. Still, she felt it wise to keep her feelings to herself. Maybe they would go away.


	4. Chapter 4

Lauren looked at her hands, which were resting in her lap and tried not to fidget. She was sitting on the plush red couch in what passed as Bo's living room after semi-purposely avoiding the succubus for a week. At first, she had just genuinely been busy with work and hadn't been answering her phone or checking her text messages but then she had gotten a message that simply said: "I really need to talk to you" and that had made her nervous, so she had been avoiding the brunette. Truthfully, she didn't really know what Bo wanted to talk about, it could have been any number of things but the Fae's insistence told her it wasn't a conversation she was necessarily going to like.

Still, she couldn't run forever, not from Bo so after eight days of conveniently being out of the lab when she came, she had allowed the succubus to pick her up after work and drive her to the dilapidated building she called home. On entering, Bo b-lined to the kitchen to get drinks while she settled on the couch. Immediately, Lauren noticed Kenzi was no where to be found so whatever it was her ex wanted to talk about, it wasn't work. She felt anxious knots forming in her stomach. Bo padded back into the living room and handed Lauren the glass of water she'd asked for, sitting down next to her on the couch and putting her own glass on the coffee table. They sat in a tense silence for several minutes, Lauren staring into her glass, feeling Bo's eyes on her. Finally, Bo took the cup from Lauren and gently set it on the table next to hers and took the blonde's hands, speaking only when the she looked up at her with a startled expression.

"I've missed you." She started slowly, ducking her head slightly to catch Lauren's gaze when she tried to look away.

"I'm sorry, I've just been busy lately." She squeezed Bo's hands slightly to let her know her apology was sincere.

"No, I mean I've really _missed_ you, Lauren."

In spite of her better judgment, Lauren felt her stomach flip and she sucked in a sharp breath. "Bo, I can't…" but the succubus cut her off.

"I know; I haven't been fair to you…to us. I know I've been really indecisive about, well, everything but I'm not ready to give up on us yet." She brought one hand up to cup the blonde's cheek and smiled self-assuredly when Lauren automatically leaned into the touch.

Lauren indulged herself in the succubus' touch for a moment, briefly closing her eyes as the pad of Bo's thumb gently traced her cheekbone before softly grabbing her wrist and pulling Bo's hand away from her face and back into her lap.

"What made you decide this?"

Bo looked vaguely uncomfortable for a moment before she smiled slightly in an attempt to cover up the expression. "I just…I feel like I'm going to lose you."

"Oh, Bo…you're not losing me. I just don't think it's really a good idea to…" she trailed off. How was she supposed to explain? There was no doubt she still loved the succubus. Of course, there would always be a part of her that would love Bo but the fact of the matter was they couldn't be what the other needed. No matter how bad either of them wanted to. She didn't know what had brought on Bo's insistence on talking about this. She'd overheard Dyson talking to her on the phone while he and Tamsin were at the lab not two weeks ago and at least on his end, they had seemed very…together.

While she knew that being romantically involved with a succubus meant that she had to be willing to let Bo _be_ a succubus, sharing her with Dyson made her skin crawl. The wolf shifter seemed to go out of his way to gloat about his superior ability to keep Bo more sated than Lauren could though she knew it had more to do with physiology than skill alone. She looked up when Bo called her name gently but in a tone that suggested it wasn't the first time she'd tried to get her attention.

"I asked if there was anyone else?"

Lauren frowned, slightly perplexed. Why would Bo think there was someone else? She spent almost all of her time around Fae and Bo knew as well as anyone that they didn't really make serious efforts in pursuing her. The only Fae that showed her any non-work related attention was…oh. She shook her head.

Bo looked simultaneously relieved and confused and let out a small sigh. "Don't you want me?" the question was almost innocent but the look on Bo's face said she already knew the answer and Lauren cursed the succubus' ability to see her aura.

"Yes." She replied, figuring there was no point in lying. Her mouth went dry and she swallowed hard as Bo brought her hand up once again to cup her cheek while leaning forward. Lauren realized she was quickly losing control of this situation. "Bo…" she started, her pitch warning.

Bo just smiled and slid her hand down to the back of Lauren's neck, urging her forward even as she halfheartedly made an attempt to lean away. "Lauren…" she teased, mimicking the doctor's manner.

Lauren could barely keep herself from shuddering as she felt a sudden wave of desire ripple through her. She was well acquainted with Bo's seducing touch but regardless of how many times she had felt it; it was still hard if not impossible to fight against it. She closed her eyes briefly when the sensation became too powerful but snapped them open again when she felt Bo's warm breath close to her face. Her eyes were in the beginning stages of shifting to blue. "Stop." Lauren demanded, her voice shaky and not as firm as she had intended.

Bo looked puzzled for a moment but her face quickly shifted into a wounded expression and she immediately leaned back, pulling her hand away from the back of Lauren's neck and ran her palms down her thighs. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head a few times before opening them again. They were their normal deep brown.

"I'm sorry." Bo said dejectedly. "I just thought…"

Lauren sighed. "This…_us_, just isn't going to work right now." She put a hand on Bo's knee. "Bo, you need to take some time to figure yourself out and that's going to take longer than a few months. I want…I need something more stable than you can give me right now and I don't want to be the one to get in the way of you discovering what you really want."

Bo nodded glumly. "I should take you home."

Lauren gave Bo's knee a gentle squeeze and stood up. "No," she replied, shaking her head. "I could use some air. I'll call a cab."

The succubus nodded and followed her to the door. When Lauren turned and embraced her suddenly, she was surprised at first, but automatically put her arms around the blonde tightly.

"You're not going to lose me." Lauren murmured reassuringly. They held each other for several long minutes before simultaneously pulling away.

Bo smiled at the blonde encouragingly and nodded, holding her gaze. She felt like she was saying goodbye to her romantic chances with Lauren and she could see Lauren felt it too but she did not stop her when she turned and walked out the door.

Lauren didn't know how far she walked or even really where she was as her vision insisted on blurring every so often and she had to blink the tears out of her eyes to better see her surroundings. When she saw the seedy looking bar though, she ignored her initial misgivings in favor of the part of her that was screaming that she needed a stiff drink and went in. The place was dimly lit and though it was very crowded, she was lucky enough to find an empty stool at the end of the bar. The barrel chested bartender covered in tattoos regarded her skeptically but nodded when she ordered a shot of R & R and told him to keep them coming till she said when.

ooo

An hour later found Lauren not in the pleasant forgetful haze of buzzed but on the acrimonious and downcast side of drunk. Which was why when someone sat next to her, she didn't even cast her gaze away from its fixed point on the water spotted countertop. Nor did she even blink in acknowledgement when the man who sat next to her attempted to start conversation several times. She only bothered to look at him when he put a hand on her arm to get her attention and even then, it was only to scowl.

He looked like he fit in with the other patrons. He was tall, heavyset yet muscular, his motorcycle vest doing nothing to hide the colorful tattoos crowded on both his arms. He had a somewhat angular face but he wasn't unattractive. He certainly was not, however, anywhere near Lauren's type. He appeared to be completely unfazed by Lauren's glare and offered her a genial smile which she did not return.

"I'm Weasel." He said gruffly.

Lauren refrained from rolling her eyes but jerked her arm so he would get the hint and remove his hand. "Great." She answered flatly, knocking back the fresh shot put in front of her. She was going to have a headache in the morning, she was sure of it.

"I figured you could use some company." Weasel continued, not caring that the blonde was not receptive. "Hot girl downing shots like there's no tomorrow obviously got some troubles and shouldn't be alone. Let me guess, some man did you wrong?"

Lauren tilted her head to one side and very nearly smirked. "Nope."

The large man's eyes seemed to light up and he leaned his elbows on the counter. "You got a man, blondie?"

She wrinkled her nose, immediately objecting to the nickname. "Nope." she toyed with the next shot put in front of her. Whisky did awful things to her head the next day; this should really be the last one.

Weasel scooted his barstool closer to her. "That's a damn shame. Fine piece of ass like you?" he clucked his tongue.

Lauren had the presence of mind to shudder slightly at his tone. "I'm not interested." She said firmly.

Weasel laughed like she had said something funny. "Course you are, blondie. Don't be ridiculous. _No one_ says no to me."

Lauren pulled several bills out of her pocket and slapped them on the counter, sliding off her stool without taking her last shot. It was definitely time to go. "Well I'm saying no." She retorted tersely making a move to walk past him to the exit. But the large man grabbed her by the upper arm and gripped tightly when she tried to wrench out of his grasp, causing her to wince. He was clutching onto her dominant arm so she couldn't feasibly throw an effective punch.

"I'm not giving you the option to say no, understand?" he hissed close to her face. His breath was stale and smelled like beer.

She grunted loudly with the renewed effort of trying to squirm out of his hold, but it was no use, he was much stronger than her. So she did the next best thing and spit in his face. Watching his face turn red and then almost purple would have been comical if there wasn't such rage in his eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something and drew his free hand back causing Lauren to recoil in preparation for the blow but a new voice next to her interrupted any of that.

"Is there a problem?"

Lauren jerked her head to the side at the familiarity of the voice and sure enough, Tamsin was standing next to her, arms crossed over her chest and an irate look on her face pointed at the man who was nearly a head taller than her. To her relief, Weasel brought the hand he'd been ready to hit her with down but did not let go of her arm. "What's it to you? I got no business with you, Tamsin."

"No, actually, you do. When you put your hands on _my_ people, I get cranky." She uncrossed her arms and clenched her fists at her side. "Am I going to have to get cranky?"

The burly man released his hold and Lauren rubbed the feeling back into her arm, taking an unconscious step towards the Valkyrie.

"Don't get excited." He grumbled. "I didn't know she was with you."

"Yeah, well, I didn't know I needed to clear everyone with you first. Oh wait, I don't." she lowered her voice. "If you _ever_ put your hands on a woman like that again, I will end you. Do you understand?"

Weasel held up his hands and took a few steps back, nodding. Tamsin nodded, seemingly satisfied with herself and placed a firm hand on the small of Lauren's back and guided her into the night air.

"Jesus, Doc." The Valkyrie said once they got outside and a few feet away from the door. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Lauren shook her head. "What are _you_ doing here?" she asked instead.

Tamsin shrugged. "It's neutral territory, I can do what I want. Besides, the rotgut here is cheaper than the Dal and humans are terrible at pool so their money is easier to take." She watched the doctor sway back and forth slightly as they stood under a streetlamp. "Are you plastered?"

Lauren lifted one shoulder noncommittally. "I don't know if I would call it plastered, per say, but I'm sure my BAC is over the legal limit."

Tamsin shook her head, but her expression was amused. "What are you doing all the way out here in the first place? Got troubles with the succubitch?"

Lauren frowned and ran a hand through her hair. "Why would you assume that?"

The Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "Her house, if you can call it that, is about twenty blocks that way" she jerked a thumb behind her to indicate direction. "I'm pretty sure that's the only thing around here that would interest you."

"We were just talking." Lauren didn't know why her voice was so tense but she relaxed when Tamsin nodded.

"Musta been some talk. Everything okay?"

There was genuine concern in the Valkyrie's voice and Lauren smiled slightly. "I think so…We…I needed to make some things clear and it was just a difficult conversation."

"Next time you need to get bombed after a heart to heart, go to the Dal."

"I didn't want to be surrounded by…" she stopped herself from saying 'Fae' in case she offended the taller blonde but Tamsin held up her hand and nodded.

"Say no more, doc. Why d'ya think I come here? Still, you need to be careful."

"I'm _perfectly_ able to take care of myself, Tamsin."

Tamsin chuckled and put a steadying hand on Lauren's shoulder when she swayed a little too far to one side. "I believe you. I'm just saying that you're used to being able to kind of move around without being bothered and it's not like that everywhere. You need a drinking buddy if you're going to get tanked in the neutral zone."

Lauren took a step into the Valkyrie's personal space. "You offering?"

Tamsin grinned. "I'm an excellent drinking buddy. C'mon, lemme take you home."

She nodded and the Dark Fae led her with a palm against her back to the parking lot alongside the bar. Though she initially protested, she allowed Tamsin to help her up into the truck, leaning her head against the cool glass of the window as the Valkyrie slid into the driver's side and started the vehicle.

"It's a lot cleaner in here than I thought it would be." Lauren commented as they started down the road.

"Those are fightin words."

The doctor looked over at Tamsin, but her expression showed she wasn't serious. "Sorry." She said anyways.

"Nah, forget it. You get a pass cause you're cute, but don't let it happen again."

Lauren blushed in spite of the mild compliment. "Thanks, you're too magnanimous."

"Don't go spreading that around, you'll ruin my rep."

She chuckled and they fell into a companionable silence. Lauren soon found herself sneaking glances at the Dark Fae, trying not to stare too long lest she be caught. She had been ignoring Tamsin almost as much as she'd been ignoring Bo the last week. She hadn't taken her research notes to the Dal like she normally did, which she was realizing she was using as an excuse to run into the Valkyrie, however briefly. There hadn't really been any Fae related cases at the cop shop that week. Nothing that couldn't be handled over the phone, but the one time Tamsin had come in to pick something up, she had feigned business and passed the interaction off to a lab tech. She had been hoping that without the almost constant contact with her, her deepening crush would begin to atrophy. It seemed, however, to have had the opposite effect.

It was true, that when Bo asked her if there was anyone else, she thought of Tamsin but she hadn't really lied when she told Bo there wasn't. After all, it wasn't like she and the Valkyrie had done anything and it was probably the alcohol talking but she was having a hard time thinking of reasons why not. Sure there was the glaring one of Dark Fae and Light Fae property taboos but that was starting to seem more like an excuse than a legitimate reason. She sighed as they pulled up to the compound and Tamsin cut off the engine. She turned to thank her and say goodbye but was surprised when she found the taller blonde had already slipped out of her seat and was making her way around to the passenger's side. Tamsin opened Lauren's door and offered her arm, which she stubbornly refused at first but took when the world tried to tilt away from her when she slid out of the truck.

"Thanks." Lauren said as they stopped in alcove in front of her door. She planned on stretching out on the couch once she got in and not risk trying to fumble up the stairs in her state.

"No problem."

"I mean for more than the ride." She clarified. "I feel pretty stupid."

Tamsin shrugged. "Don't feel bad, doc. We've all had those days. Hell, I've had those _years_." She smiled when Lauren chuckled. "You gonna be alright?"

Lauren nodded and sucked in a breath as a surge of impulsiveness suddenly went through her and she grabbed Tamsin's wrist as she was turning to go. The Valkyrie turned around, her expression questioning and Lauren quickly leaned up to press their lips together before she lost the nerve. She'd meant for the kiss to be lingering but brief though she didn't protest when Tamsin somewhat roughly pushed her by her shoulders against the door, pinning her with her hips and gladly opened her mouth when the Valkyrie's tongue swiped her bottom lip. They could have been like that for a few minutes or an hour, Lauren wasn't sure but she was sure the whimpering sound she heard when they pulled apart came from her.

"Geeze, doc." Tamsin said a bit breathlessly as she put a little more space between them, dropping her hands from Lauren's shoulders. "How long you been holding that back?"

The doctor smiled somewhat smugly. "A while." She replied, enjoying the way Tamsin's eyebrows arched in surprise and her face remained flush.

Tamsin chuckled and shook her head. "You got anything else you're holdin back?"

Lauren rolled her eyes slightly but shrugged in response.

"Right." Tamsin grinned, shoving her hands into her back pockets. "I'll see ya around." She would never tell this to anyone, but after Lauren went inside and closed the door, Tamsin touched two fingers to her lips as if she could still feel Lauren's on hers and stood in the alcove in a semi daze for a minute before heading back to her truck.


End file.
